Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Sweden
Sweden: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 7.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Sweden, 1975–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 7.0% for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.5% on the previous year and up 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Sweden peaked at 7.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 1975.
Sweden ranks 46th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Sweden, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 2.3% | — |
| 1981 | 3.4% | +47.8% |
| 1987 | 3.0% | -11.8% |
| 1992 | 3.5% | +16.7% |
| 1995 | 4.0% | +14.3% |
| 2000 | 3.0% | -25.0% |
| 2001 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 3.8% | +27.0% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | -18.1% |
| 2005 | 5.0% | +61.3% |
| 2006 | 3.7% | -25.6% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | +22.3% |
| 2008 | 5.0% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 4.7% | -5.3% |
| 2010 | 5.2% | +9.6% |
| 2011 | 5.7% | +9.7% |
| 2012 | 5.7% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 6.1% | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 5.7% | -6.2% |
| 2015 | 6.0% | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 6.0% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 6.2% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 7.1% | +14.1% |
| 2019 | 6.4% | -9.3% |
| 2020 | 6.0% | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 6.2% | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 7.5% | +20.7% |
| 2023 | 7.0% | -6.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 1 |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 3.8% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 3.9% | 2.9% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.0% | 5.2% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.7% | 6.0% | 7.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More poverty & inequality data for Sweden
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,456 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -27.03 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 41.37 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 41.4% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Sweden?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Sweden was 7.0% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 1975.
- How does Sweden rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Sweden ranks 46th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 40% of the median.